It's So Easy, It's Scary.....

Happy Halloween everyone!! I've made a great treat today that you'll be sure to love. I've said before that there are two things every kitchen must have, and now I'm adding a third item to this essential list.

1. Crock Pot
2. Cast Iron Skillet
3. Electric Ice Cream Maker - Yes, you need one!

Here is ours, but there are several other brands out there. We keep the insert in the freezer at all times, so that we can make ice cream whenever we want. The options are endless and you are really only limited by your imagination.

Here it the basic recipe for vanilla ice cream. From there, you can add whatever you want. We've tried several combinations that were tasty, including chocolate chips and rasberry jam -- it was to die for!!

Today, I used some of our Halloween candy for the flavoring. My sister Katie and I love Hershey's Special Dark, which you can only find in the Hershey's miniatures bags. I chopped up about six of those mini bars and put it in this ice cream. Trust me, it was good!!!

Basic Vanilla Ice Cream:
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 chopped up Special Dark miniature bars (you could use anything to mix in)

Directions:
1. Whisk ingredients together
2. Place ice cream maker insert into the machine and turn on
3. Pour mixture into the ice cream maker
4. Allow ice cream maker to mix 20-25 minutes total
5. After 20 minutes, add your chopped up candy bar (or other mix-in)
6. Place ice cream in freezer

*You can eat the ice cream right away and it has the consistency of a soft-serve ice cream. I always let it set in the freezer for at least an hour before serving so that it can harden just a bit. Homemade ice cream never gets as hard as store-bought ice cream, so it will still be soft. Enjoy!!

Pork Tenderloin Magic

Tonight I took a gamble and it paid off. I decided that I wanted to cook a pork tenderloin for dinner. I decided to get creative and make up my own marinade. So, this morning, I threw a few things in the food processor and created magic. This tenderloin was moist, flavorful and pretty much awesome. Here's how I did it:

Pork Tenderloin Marinade:
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 green onions
2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Throw everything into the food processor and mix
2. Rub over the entire tenderloin and let sit all day in the fridge
3. Brown both sides of the tenderloin in an iron skillet (about 3 minutes per side)
4. Stick skillet into a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes

Pumpkin Cake

Our friend Sharla came over yesterday and made her world famous Pumpkin Cake. It was so good and it made the entire house smell like Fall. Jason took one bite and said, "It's not terrible." That's exactly what you want to hear after you've baked something. Then he grabbed four Laffy Taffys and watched Sharla and I sample her cake.

It's really easy, and relatively fat free, because there is no eggs or oil, yet the cake is very moist!!

Pumpkin Cake:
1 box spice cake mix
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup water

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean (start checking after 15 minutes)

*This recipe will make around 12-18 muffins or about 6 loaves of bread (see picture).

Mexican Cornbread

If there's one thing that instantly takes me back to my grandmother's kitchen, it's Mexican Cornbread. This is her recipe that she perfected over the years. She would make this with almost anything - chicken, pork, casseroles, anything. My grandfather was one of those guys who wanted bread with every meal. This was my favorite!! Somehow my grandmother's cornbread always came out thin and crispy. Mine was fluffy, but moist, spicy, and delicious!!

Mexican Cornbread:
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1 small can cream style corn
2/3 cup oil pour some in skillet
2 eggs
6 or more jalapeno ringlets chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup buttermilk (or milk) or more if mixture gets too thick -- (I used regular milk)
Cast Iron Skillet

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Mix all ingredients -- the mixture should be thin and runny like cake batter

3. When oven gets to 250 degrees put skillet in to get hot

4. Bake 20- 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown

For some reason, mine stuck to the bottom a little bit, so it broke apart.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Tonight, I made a dish that my mom used to make all the time....Poppy Seed Chicken. This is one of those chicken casseroles that is a staple if you grow up in Alabama. This is real comfort food, but I added a chopped green onion, which my mom never did. I love the flavor of green onions and I like the color and taste that the bring to dishes.

Poppy Seed Chicken:
2-3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cooked
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 green onion, chopped
1 tube Ritz crackers
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
Minute Rice

Directions:
1. Boil chicken in water and cute into cubes
2. Grease a 9x13 baking dish and line with cubed chicken
3. Sprinkle chopped green onion over the top of the chicken
4. Mix sour cream and soup together
5. Pour over chicken
6. In a sandwich bag, crush crackers and add poppy seeds and butter
7. Pour cracker mixture over chicken
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

***Serve over rice

Fall is here!

Fall is here....the time to carve pumpkins, eat squash, and take pictures next to hay bales. I've got some delicious recipes for you over the next two weeks, so stay tuned. We're celebrating Fall here at Feeding Jason, and we hope you'll join us!!

Feeding Jason is made in the U.S.A.

Grilled Perfection

Tonight, I grilled chicken. After countless Food Network episodes on grilling, I've finally learned my lesson -- don't keep flipping your chicken. Did that come out wrong? You know what I mean. All the chefs say to grill your chicken for 7 minutes or so and then flip once and cook for another 7 minutes.....that way, you always get crispy skin and that dark color that makes it look so good.

There are 10,000 different marinades for grilled chicken, but tonight I kept it simple. One other important tip for grilling. You need to make sure and buy chicken that is on the bone and still has the skin on it. Even if you don't want to eat the skin, it helps lock in flavor and moistness...trust me on this one. For a long time I thought boneless, skinless chicken was healthier, and it is, but it gets dry so easily -- it's just not worth it!!

Simple Grilled Chicken:
4 chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil
Rosemary -- lots of it

Directions:
1. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and drizzle with olive oil
2. Make sure every piece is completely covered
3. Throw in rosemary, salt, and pepper
4. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before grilling
5. See above for grilling instructions

Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Tonight, Jason made these awesome cookies! We love pistachios, and of course we love cookies, but we never thought of combining the two until we found this recipe. It makes a ton of cookies ---6 dozen to be exact.


Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Cookies:
1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of kosher salt (regular salt will suffice)
1 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped pistachios, raw and unsalted
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chunks

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream the butter and sugars together on high speed for three minutes
3. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and beat for 3 minutes, (scrape down the sides of the bowl)
4. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt
5. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture slowly
6. Fold in the pistachios and chocolate chunks
7. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to set up on the cookie sheets before moving to a baking rack to cool completely.

Thank You Paula Deen

Like her or not, Paula Deen has some good recipes. Tonight, I made Boursin Potatoes. Boursin is a garlic-herb cheese spread. It's really good for a party, but it's even better with potatoes. We also began chipping away at our freezer full of meat, so I also cooked a couple of steaks. The combination of steak with this sauce from the potatoes was out of this world. You will have to try this soon!

Boursin Potatoes:
5-6 Yukon Gold potatoes, skins on, sliced thinly
2 shallots, chopped
1 cup whipping cream
2.5 ounces Boursin Cheese (I could only find the 5 ounce package, so I just halved it)
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Slice the potatoes very thinly and chop shallots
2. Place half of the potatoes and shallots into a glass baking dish (round is better)
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
4. In a sauce pot, slowly heat cream and whisk in the Boursin cheese until melted
5. Pour half of the cream mixture over the potatoes
6. Top with remaining potatoes and shallots
7. Season with salt and pepper
8. Pour remaining cream mixture on top
9. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour

** The steak turned out great as well. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you should ask for one for Christmas (or Hanukkah). First, I rubbed the steaks with olive oil and Greek Seasoning. I haven't talked about Greek Seasoning very much on this blog, but I use it all the time. I prefer Cavender's if you can find it. Then, I heat the iron skillet on the stove and brown both sides of the steaks (about 5 minutes on each side). Then I top each steak with butter and finish them off in the oven for about 15 minutes or so. I love steaks on the grill, but this method is also a great way to cook steaks.

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

I love the idea of stuffed peppers, but I always wind up eating the filling and leaving the pepper. I just never want to take a big bite out of a green pepper. When I found this recipe, I thought it was brilliant. This tastes even better than stuffed peppers because the peppers are chopped up into small pieces and you still have all that great filling. I served this with garlic bread...it just felt right.

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup:
2 lbs ground round
3 small green peppers, chopped with seeds removed
1 small onion, chopped
1 can chicken broth
1 - 14.5 ounce can peeled, crushed tomatoes
2 - 10 ounce cans tomato sauce
3 cups white rice, cooked
8-10 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. In a soup pot, cook ground beef in olive oil until browned
2. Add chopped onion and peppers and cook for 8 minutes
3. Drain grease
4. Add salt & pepper, chicken broth, tomatoes, and tomato sauce
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes
6. Cook rice (I used Minute rice) in a separate pot

** The recipe says to add rice to each bowl and then top with soup....I added all the cooked rice after the soup had cooked. I really like this better. The rice absorbs some of the liquid, so it ends up a little more on the stew side than a real soup, but it turned out great. This recipe makes a lot, but we froze the leftovers for another night.

It's Cocktail Time!

I think I created a new drink....is that possible? I had to work today, so I was cranky. Jason took too long of a nap, so he was cranky. Those kind of days call for a liquid dinner. I saw that I had some leftover basil and I decided to get creative. I had vodka, a couple of limes, and I knew that something magical was about to be produced. I've searched online to see if this drink already exists, and I can't find anything. If you know what this drink is called, please let me know....otherwise, it will be known as a BLV (basil, lime, vodka).

BLV:
Vodka
Freshly squeezed lime juice
1 large basil leaf, shredded
Splash of ginger ale (or tonic water if you prefer)

You can really taste the basil in this drink and it's very refreshing. It's a great way to use up extra basil, and a great way to impress your friends (by telling them about a drink they've never heard of...the BLV). I also think the drink turned out really pretty, don't you?

Smashed Potatoes

Today Jason bought $300 worth of meat from a door-to-door salesman.....typical, right? So, over the next few weeks, I'll be focusing on tasty side items and beef/pork dishes. Buckle up. Smashed potatoes are really easy and they go with just about everything. You could add almost anything to them and they would still turn out great. Here's how I do them....



Smashed Potatoes:
3-4 baking potatoes, chopped into small pieces (I leave the skins on)
3 green onions1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
A handful of shredded cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper

1. Boil potatoes until completely cooked, drain and return to same pot
2. Add all ingredients and mash with a potato masher or a fork
3. I like these potatoes with lumps, but blend until your desired consistency
4. If the potatoes seem too dry, slowly add more milk and mix a little at a time

Too Much

Too much work....too much pasta.....what was I thinking? I was off work today, so I decided to make stuffed shells. I've never done this before, so I decided to use the recipe on the back of the box of pasta shells. They forgot to mention that it takes almost an hour to get this stuff ready. They also forgot to mention that this recipe makes enough stuffed shells for a small army. Don't get me wrong, it turned out good, but I probably won't be making this dish again anytime soon.

Stuffed Shells:

1 - 12 oz. package of jumbo shells

1 - 32 oz. container of ricotta cheese

2 eggs

2 cups mozzerella cheese

1 Tablespoon chopped basil

Zest of one lemon

Salt & Pepper

1 package of Italian sausage

1 jar of pasta sauce

Directions:

1. Cook Italian sausage, drain grease, and let cool

2. Cook pasta according to package directions

3. Stir ricotta, eggs, mozzerella, basil, lemon zest and spices together in a bowl

4. Once sausage has cooled, add to cheese mixture

5. Lightly grease a baking dish

6. Pour some pasta sauce in the bottom of the baking dish

7. Once pasta has cooled, begin filling each shell with sausage/cheese mixture

8. Once all of the pasta shells have been filled, top with pasta sauce

9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes

P.S. Jason loves garlic bread

Fried Corn

Corn is Jason's favorite vegetable. I love this recipe for making fried corn. It's quick and delicious. I hate to admit it, but I got this recipe from Sandra Lee.

Fried Corn:
4 tablespoons butter
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen corn, defrosted
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
Salt & Pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter

2. When butter is foamy add the corn stirring to coat with the butter

3. Cook stirring frequently for 1 minute

4. Add sugar and cook for 2 minutes more

5. Increase heat to high and add heavy cream-continue to stir so corn won't stick to pan

6. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes

7. Cook corn until most all of the cream has absorbed about 5 minutes more

Zucchini Couscous

A couple of years ago, we discovered couscous. We really like it, but sometimes it can be a little boring. One night, I decided to try and sneak some veggies into our meal and I chopped up some zucchini into the couscous. To my surprise, Jason loved it and now this is how we eat couscous. The rest of tonight's meal included pork chops that I grilled in the dark (I've got skills) and roasted butternut squash.

Zucchini Couscous
1 box of plain couscous
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 zucchini, chopped
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Cook couscous according to package directions. Basically, boil water, stir in couscous and let sit for 5 minutes off the heat.
2. In a skillet, saute the chopped onion and zucchini until both are tender
3. Pour zucchini/onion mixture over the couscous and mix well

Tonight I just poured the mixture on top of the couscous, I didn't mix it in like normal. I'm not sure why. It turned out just as good though.

Roast Chicken with Smothered Potatoes

Tonight, I cut up my first chicken. I always thought that cutting up a whole chicken was hard work, and it's tricky when you don't know what you're doing. Then I thought, if the Amish can do it, then so can I. You could buy a chicken that is already cut into pieces if you are in a hurry, but make sure that the chicken is on the bone and has the skin on it, or this recipe won't work.

According to the recipe, here's how to cut your chicken. We're basically just cutting it in half and leaving each breast & thigh attached. Find the backbone and cut alongside it with your knife. You'll see a little bone sticking out of the hole in the chicken (where the head used to be)....that's the bcckbone. Once you've cut along one side of the backbone, then cut along the other side and remove it completely. Next, remove the bag of giblets from inside the chicken. Now cut through the middle of the chicken making two big halves (see pictures below and you'll understand).

Roasted Chicken with Smothered Potatoes:
1 - 3lb frying chicken
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
8 new potatoes, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped (I used about 3 stalks)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Grease a 9x13 baking dish
3. Cut the chicken into two pieces
4. Place potates in the middle of the baking dish and surround with the onions
5. Salt and pepper potatoes and onions
6. Sprinkle garlic and rosemary over potatoes
7. Rub chicken halves with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary
8. Flatten chicken over the top of the potatoes
9. Roast for 45-50 minutes or until the skin of the chicken is golden brown


Step 1:

Step 2:

Finished Product:

Zuppa Toscana

Tonight's dinner was inspired by the Olive Garden. I'm not the biggest fan of that establishment, so when we go, I usually order this wonderful soup they have on the menu called "Zuppa Toscana." It's a thick, creamy, hearty soup that is really easy to make. Jason gave this dinner two thumbs up!!

Zuppa Toscana:
1 package of spicy italian sausage
1 large onion
2 medium potatoes, cut into cubes
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
6 slices bacon
2 cups kale leaves, sliced
2 Tablespoons chicken stock
1 quart water
1/3 cup heavy cream
Red pepper flakes -- to taste
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Remove sausage from casings
2. Cook sausage in skillet until done
3. In soup pot, cook bacon and onion until done
4. Remove bacon from pot
5. Add garlic to onion and cook for 1 minute
6. Add potatoes, chicken stock, water and simmer for 15 minutes
7. Add bacon, sausage, kale and cream
8. Simmer for 4 minutes, then serve

ABC Bread (Almond, Banana, & Coconut)

I love to bake on the weekends if I have time. This morning, I got up, made some coffee, turned on some music (click here to listen to my "Baking Mix") and I decided to bake something for Jason. I found this recipe from a new blog that I just discovered. Jason doesn't love bananas, and neither do I, but this recipe sounded really good. After he tried a bite, he agreed that even though this recipe has 4 bananas in it, you don't really taste it (same goes for the coconut, it's there, but just a hint).

Almond Banana Coconut Bread:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
4 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 cups)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
3/4 cup almonds (slivered or chopped), toasted

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. To toast almonds, place in skillet on medium low heat, when you smell them, they're ready

3. Continue the same process with coconut -- the coconut will toast much faster and can easily burn, so watch it!!

4. In a mixing bowl, sift flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda

5. In a mixer, blend butter until smooth and creamy

6. Add sugars and mix on medium speed for a couple of minutes

7. Add eggs and beat well

8. Add vanilla and coconut milk

9. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mix just until the flour is all mixed in

10. Stir in the toasted almonds & coconut by hand

11. Place in baking dishes for 40-45 minutes......let cool for 10 minutes before serving

Four perfect loaves every time!! I bet you're thinking....."Wow, cool pan Kyle!! Where can I get one?" Well, here's the link to get your own. I love this pan because you can get more loaves baked at the same time and it's just easier to deal with than four individual loaf pans. Don't forget, several holidays are just around the corner and this bread would be a great gift for people you don't want to spend money on!

Curry Ketchup

Tonight, I was worn out, so we just ate burgers and fries. I decided to kick it up a notch with a fun condiment, so I made curry ketchup. I first had this when we went to New York last year. We went to this place called Pomme Frites, which specializes in fries. They had a curry ketchup, but honestly, I think my version has more flavor.


Curry Ketchup:
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons curry powder

Mix together and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

If you like curry flavor or Indian food, you'll like the warmth that this ketchup has.....it's amazing what a big difference this will make to your next burger.

Get Ready to Live!

This recipe is from my grandmother and it's one of my favorite things to eat. This dish goes with everything and it's really easy to prepare. Jason did a little dance when he found out we were having this tonight.....even on crutches, he still danced, which proves just how good this really is.


Baked Rice:
1 cup rice
1/2 cup water
3/4 stick of butter
1 can Campbell's French Onion Soup

1. Melt butter in a covered baking dish
2. Add remaining ingredients
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, stirring halfway through

The rice will absorb all of the liquid from the butter, water, and the soup and the flavor of the french onion soup will go through all of the rice.

Posole'

Now I've never been to Mexico, but supposedly people eat Posole' around Christmas. In the Fall, every day is Christmas at our house because we love Posole'. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but you probably already have most of this stuff in your pantry already (ok, maybe not a can of hominy). This is a chunky, flavorful soup that I think you will love.

Posole':

2 cloves minced garlic

1 can hominy

1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce

1 bell pepper (red or green), chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup chicken stock

1 bunch of cilantro

Juice from one lime

Salt & Pepper

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 lb. of pork steak -- now we can't always find "pork steak" (not even sure what that is exactly), so we use boneless pork chops and cut them up into bite size pieces

Toppings:

Sour cream

Chopped green onions

Cheddar cheese

Shredded lettuce

Diced Avocado

Sliced radishes

More cilantro

Tortilla chips or Fritos

1. Saute chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic in oil
2. Add chopped up pork and saute until browned
3. Add tomato sauce, chicken stock, hominy, and seasonings
4. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer
5. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, then add lime juice and cilantro
6. Serve with as many toppings as you like

***This recipe will make about two hearty bowls of posole'. If you are feeding four people, I would double this recipe. We usually double this recipe because we love it so much!!

Homemade Pizza

We love pizza and Nashville has some really good places to get pizza. We've found that we love making our own "homemade" pizza. We can choose as many toppings as possible, it tastes great, and it's ready in under 10 minutes.


Kyle's Homemade Pizza:
2 thin crust pizza crusts
1 jar of Ragu Pizza Sauce
1 bag of shredded mozzerella cheese
1 package Canadian Bacon


Kyle added sliced green olives and herbed goat cheese. Jason added shredded pepper jack cheese and Italian herbs (we were out of bacon).

Just follow the baking directions on the pizza crust package. Most brands cook in 10 minutes or less. This is so much faster than ordering delivery pizza!! We love it!!

Balsamic Strawberries

When we first heard of someone putting balsamic vinegar on strawberries we made a face. Then we saw the Barefoot Contessa do it and it seemed like the best idea on earth. Seriously, if you've never seen her show on Food Network, you should try to catch a few episodes. You'll wish you were one of her gay best friends in the Hamptons. Contessa can do no wrong in our world. The strawberries are sweet, but there is a hint of spiciness that makes them really good. The next time we make these, we'll serve it with homemade ice cream or maybe creme brulee.

Balsamic Strawberries:
2 pints (4 cups) sliced fresh strawberries
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

A Whole Lotta Bean Dip

Have you noticed that most of our food doesn't photograph too well. At first, I thought it was our camera, but now I realize that much of our food is brown. It's fine, and tastes great, but not so pretty sometimes.

We spent Sunday with our friend Sharla and she made her famous bean dip....and she made a lot of it. This recipe is great for a party or a really hungry family.


Sharla's Bean Dip:
1 package taco seasoning
1 8oz container of sour cream
2 cans beans
1 16 oz. package shredded cheddar cheese

Mix everything together in a baking dish
Bake 30-45 minutes or until bubbly and warm

Chocolate Souffle Pudding Cake

Tonight, we got take out from a local (and kinda scary) restaurant, Baily & Cato's. Well I guess the old saying is true, "Nothing goes better with Soul Food than Chocolate Souffle Pudding Cake." Ok, ok, maybe I just made that up, but if you say it enough times it sort of sounds like an old saying.

This recipe came from a cookbook that I love, Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor. Anne Byrn has several cookbooks where she takes an ordinary box cake mix, adds a few extra ingredients, and creates something magical. I don't think she's a real doctor, but I would put my life in her hands because everything I've made from her cookbook has been awesome!


Chocolate Souffle Pudding Cake:
2 cups miniatrue marshmallows
1 package Devil's Food Cake Mix (we screwed up and used plain Chocolate Cake and it was fine)
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups water
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
3 1/2 cups boiling water

1. Line a greased 9x13 pan with marshmallows
2. In your mixer, mix together cake mix, eggs, 1 1/3 cup of water for 1 minute on low speed
3. Scrape down the sides and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed
4. Pour batter over the marshmallows
5. Mix together the brown sugar and cocoa powder and sprinkle on top of the batter
6. Pour the 3 1/2 cups of boiling water over the top of the entire mixture
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes - you want the edges to be firm but the center to be jiggly
8. Let cool for 20 minutes before eating



It's sort of like an old-fashioned hot fudge sundae cake that my grandmother used to make. (Taylor, you should make this for Marley!)



I served it in mugs, and it was so good. I know what you're thinking - Two Girls, One Cup (you didn't think I could work in that reference did you?).....yes, like many of our recipes, it might not look great, but trust me, this is delicious!!

Pot Roast

Pot Roast is one of the easiest things to do. We've used pork and beef in the past and they're both delicious, though pork roasts seem to have more flavor. Tonight, I used a boston butt roast. You will need a crock pot for this recipe and if you don't have one, drop what you're doing and go get one. The roast just falls apart, which again isn't all that pretty, but the taste is so good. We serve this meal with chef hat rolls (aren't those good with just about anything?) and lots of A-1 sauce.

Pot Roast
1 roast (boston butt or whatever is on sale)
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
5-6 red potatoes, washed and quartered
1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Dash of red pepper flakesD
Dash of fennel seeds
Salt & Pepper

1. Rub roast with minced garlic, salt and pepper
2. Sprinkle onion soup mix over roast and add chopped veggies
3. Add enough water to the crockpot to just cover the roast/veggies
4. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours

Potato Box

We call this meal Potato Box and it's another one of those quick fix meals that is ready in about 30 minutes (and it couldn't be easier). We think Jason's brother Jeff would love this meal for some reason. Maybe it's the combination of ground beef and potatoes from a box, maybe it's the bread crumb topping, or just call it a hunch. Either way, this dinner is in heavy rotation at our house because of how easy and delicious it is.






Potato Box
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 box of potatoes (we've used juliene, scalloped, hashbrown, they're all great with this)
1 small onion, chopped (optional)
Bread Crumbs
Spray Butter
*Some box potato packages call for milk, so make sure you have about a cup on hand


1. Brown ground beef and one small onion in a skillet
2. Drain grease
3. Assemble potatoes according to package directions (add water & milk to dry potatoes and place in a casserole dish)
4. Add ground beef & onion to potatoes before placing into the oven
5. Top with bread crumbs and give it a few hits of spray butter
6. Bake according to package directions


The result is wonderful and if you try this, you'll probably be thanking us for changing your life with this recipe.

Chicken & Aspargus

Tonight, we had a wonderful chicken and asparagus recipe from Paula Deen. Jason loves her (see below). This meal is really good comfort food, but you don't have to feel guilty eating it because of the asparagus (that's how we justify it). Here's Jason, Judy, and Paula in Tunica last spring.

Chicken & Asparagus

4 boneless chicken breast halves

1 bunch of asparagus

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup of sour cream

Zest of half a lemon

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

1 cup of cheddar cheese

1. Brown the chicken in olive oil

2. Break the asparagus to tear off the tough end piece

3. Arrange asparagus in a greased 9x13 baking dish

4. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, soup, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt/pepper

5. Cut up chicken and place over asparagus

6. Top with soup mixture

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes

8. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and let sit for 5 minutes while cheese melts

We served this over rice.....for that, we just made minute rice. While the rice was cooling, we chopped up a few green onions in the rice and it tasted great. It also looks fancy when you have little bits of green on top of your food.